Mathews Cemetery

E 1/2 SE1/4, Section 4, Township 15N, Range 9W
Morgan County, Illinois    
Mathews Cemetery Markers in Antioch Cemetery

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An early township burying ground. Because of the devastation of time, wild animals and modern farming methods, the remaining tombstones in this ruined cemetery known as Mathews Cemetery were moved to Antioch Cemetery, about 1 1/4 miles south. Because of their deterioration, the burials were left where they were, in a cultivated field about 7 miles northeast of downtown Jacksonville. The deed for Mathews Cemetery is found in the Morgan County Clerk's office in Deed Record Book NN, page 338. Samuel T. Mathews and Sarah A., his wife, quit claimed the land to the Trustees of Schools in the Township, for the use of a burial ground for the inhabitants of said Township. Anyone interested in Mathews family history may also refer to the burials listed in Greenwood or Crum Cemetery for persons with identical names as some of the people buried in Mathews Cemetery. Some of the bodies may have been moved to other cemeteries, as has been the custom many times.

Earl Deatherage and I visited Antioch Cemetery on October 25 and 26, 2005 to update the Antioch listing and take photographs of the stones in that cemetery. While taking the photographs we discovered the Mathews and Salley tombstones laid out and almost totally covered by dirt and grass along the back or north side of Antioch Cemetery next to the fence. We uncovered all of the stones and photographed them - I've included the photographs both here and in the Antioch listing. There was one very large spire which had fallen over right next to the old Mathews Cemetery tombstones - it may also be a stone which was moved from this cemetery. Unfortunately because of the size and weight of the stone and the fact that it fell what must be face down (since we couldn't find any inscription on the other three sides), we were unable to transcribe any information from that fallen spire. Nearly all of the stones are broken, but it appears that nearly all of the pieces were recovered, moved and placed together with the foot stones in one long line (see photograph above).